Stop Dog Shedding

MINIMIZE DOG'S SHEDDING! (by Anonymous, U.S.A.)

"Simply buy coconut oil from Walmart or almost any other store that sells lots of different supplies (i.e., pet stuff, clothes, food, basic needs, etc.).

Coconut oil is usually located in the lard, olive and vegetableoil section.

It costs about $5 for a big tub, more for organic* - but well worth it!

Note: We found the above product listed online from Walmart for $5.98.

How to Give it To Your Dog:

You can just feed it with your dog's meal. The dose depends on the size of your dog. If you give it too much it should not harm your dog other than giving him or her diarrhea. I started my 17 pound dog on half a table spoon, and she now gets a full spoonful. My sister's Pitbull gets a full spoon.

It takes a couple weeks, maybe even a month, but it is worth the wait! In other words, it takes a while to take effect. Therefore, do not - I repeat do not - stop giving your dog coconut oil and expect it not to shed again. You can also use this for cats; I am not sure about bunnies or other animals."

How We Tried to Stop Dog Shedding

We were surrounded by drifts of fur for years - unfortunately, we did not have the above remedy available when we had our shedders. However, we did finally find an inexpensive brush that worked. Here's our story:

With FB, the black Lab mix who lived to be 13, there were always clumps of black fur showing on our light colored floors and garments. He seemed to shed pretty much all year in the central California climate.

An online search turned up several products, including a de-shedding tool for around $60. The reviews for this item were mixed for dogs such as Comet. For that price, we didn’t want to take a chance. Instead, we tried all the various implements available to us – a couple of spare combs, an old spiky hairbrush and a floor scrubbing brush.

Comet shed mostly blond fur. This blended in with lighter colored carpets but not with dark sweaters, couch covers, or the red upholstery in our truck.

He also shed year round. We could brush out bags of the stuff and it just kept coming - it seemed like there was an endless supply!

Comet was very sensitive to any pulling on his fur, especially his rear end where a lot of the fur was located.

Comet relaxing with Reggie after a fur removal episode

He made no bones about it (generally growling and acting like he might nip), so we weren't inclined to brush him very often. When things got really bad, we'd sometimes muzzle him.

However, after moving into the confines of a travel trailer with him a few years ago, we could no longer ignore this furfest. We started searching for possible tools that he would find acceptable.

Inexpensive De-Shedding Tool

To our surprise, the one item our GSD tolerated, and which coincidentally worked the best, was the scrubbing brush shown at left.

It was about 3 by 5 inches (75 by 125 mm) with bristles almost an inch (25 mm) long. We used a comb to scrape accumulated fur off the brush into a wastebasket.

Why We Believe It Worked

The bristles were just long enough for his coat and apparently pulled less on the fibers than the combs and spiky hairbrush.

A side benefit was that the brush also stimulated the circulation under his skin and distributed oils throughout his fur so that it felt softer and looked better. So although it didn't stop dog shedding or even slow it down in his case, it did help us keep on top of things.

So there are our ideas. You probably won't be able to stop dog shedding entirely, even if you minimize it by giving your dog coconut oil. However, you most likely can remove the fur without having to spend a whole bunch of money...